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Time Warner Cable CEO Teaches Us a Lesson In Being Prepared

When being interviewed, it’s OK to admit that there are things you don’t know or need to follow up on. But when you’re the CEO of a company and you’re unaware of the big things happening in your industry, that’s a big ‘ol fail.

Case in point: Time Warner Cable’s CEO Glenn Britt says he has a dream to put the Internets in the TV. “Britt went on to lay out his vision for the future, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it basically reads like a product description for AirPlay, a service that wireless[ly] streams videos from your iPhone, iPod or iPad to your television via the Apple TV box,” Business Insider reports. And also, The New York Times reported it. Zoinks.

Britt also admitted, “I’m not sure I know what AirPlay is.”

He continued to embarrass himself by saying, “[T]he current Apple TV, the little thing, the hockey puck, really doesn’t do anything to help enable you to get Internet material on your TV.”

The Verge got a BS comment from a Time Warner spokesperson, who said there’s so much technology out there and the point is Britt was talking about moving content without a box. Hmm… suspect. Media reports say he admitted to being an “Apple enthusiast” so he should’ve known what Airplay was.

As a rule, businesses should be watching the competition. And media training should fill in any gaping holes. Execs need to get their need-to-knows sorted before they start proving how clueless they are.